I'm a scientist and an educator. And occasionally, I want to say things that I shouldn't say in front of the students. So, here I am.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Roadkill

Greg ditched me to hang out with his writer buddies, so I've fled Ohio in a westerly direction. I saw so much roadkill driving from Columbus to Madison that it was similar to plague scenes from movies. (I'm particularly reminded of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.) Northern Indiana and Illinois are very flat...too flat. And driving through Chicago was a pain, adding about an hour to my journey. I wish they would let you buy a "turista pass" at the beginning of the tollway so there aren't so many stops. Or that they would tell you the amount of the next toll in advance. I was getting more than a little irritated by the time I finally entered Wisconsin - yay, a new state for me! Then the landscape became pretty with gently rolling hills again. I like how Madison is completely invisible from the interstate when approaching from the east. And such a lovely city!

Yeah, they really gouge you in those self-contained space stations, don't they?

Still, after your description I'm glad I've never driven across Oklahoma. I think there should be a law that says no tolls west of the Mississippi, except for bridges. When I hit the Kansas Turnpike going east on I-70, I felt like my rights as a Californian were being violated.